International: United Kingdom
UK halves subsidies for wood-burning power plant
12 Feb 2025
The UK government has halved subsidies for the Drax power station, which was converted from burning coal to wood biomass. The North Yorkshire power plant has also been ordered it to use 100% sustainable wood, following criticism for burning wood pellets sourced from US and Canadian forests.
Green campaigners fear UK to renew subsidies to Drax power station
10 Feb 2025
Green campaigners fear ministers are poised to award billions of pounds in fresh subsidies to Drax power station, despite strong concerns that burning trees to produce electricity is bad for the environment.
Nine percent of England's farmland needs to be converted into wildlife habitats and forests
5 Feb 2025
Roughly nine percent of England's farmland needs to be converted into habitats for wildlife and forest by 2050 in order to meet the country's nature and net-zero goals, according to a consultation launched by Steve Reed, the United Kingdom's environment secretary.
In historic win, court rules against UK's Rosebank oilfield over climate impacts
3 Feb 2025
The decision by the previous Conservative government in the United Kingdom to approve the giant Rosebank oilfield off Shetland was ruled unlawful by an Edinburgh court on Thursday.
UK drops climate and nature bill
31 Jan 2025
In dropping the bill, UK Labour ministers avoided an internal party row by promising potential rebels supporting the bill they would have input into environmental legislation.
The bitter final showdown over British coal, as sun sets on ‘dirtiest fuel’
20 Dec 2024
The county of Cumbria in Northern England has become the battleground for a final war, which is raging over plans to build a new coal mine.
How the UK plans to reach clean power by 2030
19 Dec 2024
The UK government has set out an “action plan” for reaching its target of clean power by 2030, which it describes as “the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations”.
Government unveils new powers to approve onshore wind farms
16 Dec 2024
The government has unveiled plans to give ministers the final say on approving large onshore wind farms rather than leaving decisions to local councils, where opposition has often been fierce.
UK 'not ready' for extreme weather
10 Dec 2024
The government is "not ready" for the sort of extreme weather brought by Storm Darragh, the new head of the Climate Change Committee has warned.
Oil and gas investments of Donald Trump’s new UK ambassador
9 Dec 2024
Campaigners warn that the UK will face “pressure from American fossil fuel interests” to slow its energy transition.
Burping cows, Bovaer and boycotts: The anti-methane additive that’s taking social media by storm
5 Dec 2024
UK shoppers have threatened to boycott supermarkets Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons over a ‘miracle’ methane-busting additive trial.
We have officially advised our university to ditch carbon offsets – and focus on cutting emissions
3 Dec 2024
Some would say carbon offsetting offers us a way out. At the University of Exeter we have explored the role of carbon offsets in the university’s very ambitious target of net zero by 2030.
Clean-up continues for areas hit by Storm Bert
28 Nov 2024
Heavy rain and high winds caused widespread disruption across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, with damage to homes, shops and roads.
Ford cuts jobs claiming weak demand for electric cars
22 Nov 2024
The company said it had to act because of difficult trading conditions, including intense competition and weak demand for electric vehicles.
UK unveils principles for voluntary market in nature credits
15 Nov 2024
The UK is setting out its own principles for the voluntary market for nature credits, representing a vote of confidence in a largely experimental financial product that’s intended to protect biodiversity.
Scotland passes climate change legislation
7 Nov 2024
Scotland has officially scrapped annual climate targets as well as its 2030 and 2040 interim targets, but is still aiming to reach net-zero by 2045.
COP29: What is the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance?
6 Nov 2024
As nations assemble at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, one issue is expected to dominate the summit: climate finance.
UK’s next Paris pledge should commit to ‘81% emissions cut by 2035’: govt advisors
29 Oct 2024
The UK should make an international pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 81% below 1990 levels by 2035, according to the government’s advisory Climate Change Committee.
Cities face ‘severe degradation’ without meaningful climate action, warn experts
23 Oct 2024
Cities that fail to take meaningful climate action face a future of severe degradation with infrastructure collapse and environmental deterioration, climate and health experts warn.
Will carbon capture help the UK tackle climate change?
8 Oct 2024
There is a lot of rousing rhetoric today about carbon capture, following the government’s pledge of £21.7bn of public funds over the next 25 years to help kick-start the industry in the UK.
Climate scientists call on UK govt to pause £1bn plans for carbon capture
3 Oct 2024
Leading climate scientists are urging the government to pause plans for a billion pound investment in “green technologies” they say are unproven and would make it harder for the UK to reach its net zero targets.
UK's last coal-fired power station set to close
30 Sep 2024
The closure of the UK's last coal-fired power station has been described by officials as a "tremendously important milestone" in energy production.
Surprise benefit of London's fines for high-polluting cars: More active kids
23 Sep 2024
Four in 10 London children stopped driving and started walking to school a year after the city's clean air zone went into effect.
Climate a more fundamental threat than terror: UK foreign secretary
19 Sep 2024
The United Kingdom's foreign secretary has said climate change is a more urgent threat than terrorism or Putin.
High Court rejects the UK’s first new coal mine in 30 years
18 Sep 2024
A judge on Friday rejected plans for the United Kingdom’s first new coal mine in three decades, delivering a victory for climate groups who challenged the project’s claim it would have zero impact on global emissions.
How farms are using 'magic dust' to capture carbon
16 Sep 2024
Scottish farmers are using crushed basalt to both capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to help crops grow.
UK farming's 'net zero' climate target in doubt
12 Sep 2024
Ambitious plans to make farming ‘net zero’ by 2040 - 10 years ahead of the UK’s legally-binding national target – may not be achieved, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has told the BBC.
UK’s methane hotspots include landfills and last coalmine
5 Sep 2024
Greenpeace urges UK’s Labour to ‘fulfil international obligations’ as critics question accuracy of official data.
Renewable energy auction secures enough power for 11m UK homes
4 Sep 2024
Great Britain’s renewable energy auction has secured enough new clean electricity projects to power 11m UK homes after the Labour government made record funding available to suppliers.
Green groups call on UK govt to stop subsidies for biomass plant
2 Sep 2024
More than 40 groups are calling on the government to scrap plans to pay billions in subsidies to the Drax biomass power plant, which was recently revealed as the country's worst carbon emitter.
UK could approve 13 new oil and gas projects despite North Sea pledge
13 Aug 2024
The UK government could approve 13 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, with the fuel produced emitting 350m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) if burned.
How a livestock industry lobbying campaign is turning Europe against lab-grown meat
2 Aug 2024
Last month the UK became the first country in Europe to approve the sale of meat grown in a laboratory, giving the green light to a pet food made of cell-cultivated chicken.
UK’s Labour will honour pledge of £11.6bn in overseas climate aid
30 Jul 2024
Labour will honour a pledge of £11.6bn in overseas aid for the climate crisis, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told an unusual meeting of COP presidents past and present.
Landmark lawsuit challenges Britain’s climate change adaptation plan
26 Jul 2024
In a landmark climate case, Friends of the Earth and two people whose lives have been severely affected by the changing climate are suing the government of the United Kingdom over its failure to safeguard people, property and infrastructure against foreseeable effects of the climate crisis.
UK first European country to approve lab-grown meat, starting with pet food
22 Jul 2024
Lab-grown pet food is to hit UK shelves as Britain becomes the first country in Europe to approve cultivated meat.
UK supermarkets to trial methane-reducing feed supplement for dairy cows
19 Jul 2024
UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will trial a methane-reducing feed supplement for dairy cows as part of an initiative to cut its carbon footprint.
From green energy to rivers, environment at heart of nine plans in King’s speech
19 Jul 2024
The UK's new Labour government recognises the ‘urgency of climate challenge’ but also presents measures as way to also cut the cost of living.
Preparing London for climate impacts is ‘non-negotiable,’ landmark review warns
18 Jul 2024
The government has been warned that preparing London for climate change is “non-negotiable” as a landmark review of the capital’s climate resilience is published.
New UK govt lifts ‘absurd’ ban on onshore windfarms
10 Jul 2024
The de facto ban on new onshore windfarms has been dropped by the Labour government, to the delight of environmentalists and energy experts.
‘Our work is urgent’: Will the UK’s new Labour government prioritise the climate crisis?
8 Jul 2024
Campaigners and experts say support for environmental policies in the UK general election means Labour must now make climate action a top priority.
The Guardian view on Britain’s green future: where was the debate?
5 Jul 2024
OPINION: The climate emergency should have been a more prominent theme during an underwhelming election campaign.
Key oil project must count full climate impact - court
24 Jun 2024
The Supreme Court has ruled a local council should have considered the full climate impact of burning oil from new wells - a landmark decision which could put future UK oil and gas projects in question.
The Tory network of climate denial and fossil fuel funding
14 Jun 2024
DeSmog catalogues how oil and gas firms have forged ties with the highest levels of government in the UK, as well as with the media and influential think tanks.
UK climate aid reaches record £1.8bn in 2023 after loosening rules
10 Jun 2024
The UK government’s spending on climate aid reached its highest-ever level last year, with more than £1.8bn channelled into projects aimed at cutting emissions.
UK won’t cook the books to hit its climate goals
23 May 2024
Announcement on next carbon budget comes after weeks of speculation the government would try and find more ‘headroom.’
BP and Shell ‘shaped’ UK carbon tax proposals, private emails show
13 May 2024
Internal documents expose how oil and gas majors were given the chance to influence a report by the Policy Exchange think tank.
UK's new climate action plan unlawful due to delivery risk
6 May 2024
Britain's latest climate action plan is unlawful because ministers were not told of the risk that key policies could not be delivered, London's High Court ruled.
Liz Truss book calls for climate laws to be abolished and boasts of effort to cancel UK COP summit
23 Apr 2024
The former UK prime minister attacks flagship climate deals and makes false claims about electric vehicles, Russia’s influence on energy policies, and net zero.
Food security threatened by extreme flooding, farmers warn
16 Apr 2024
The flooding and extreme weather linked to climate change will undermine UK food production unless farmers get more help, according to the National Farmers Union.
UK Government faces High Court challenge over ‘inadequate’ climate protection plans
16 Apr 2024
The case has been brought by an activist who lost his house to coastal erosion, a disability campaigner and Friends of the Earth.
Datacentres should be forced to invest in wind and solar energy, all states agree – except Queensland
Wed 13 May 2026
Power hungry datacentres that are growing to meet the demands of artificial intelligence could be forced to invest in enough new solar and wind generation to completely cover their electricity needs.
US EPA moves to speed clean air permits for power plants, industry
Wed 13 May 2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would speed up the process for large polluters to obtain clean air permits, the latest move by the Trump administration to ease regulatory burdens on American power plants and industry.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
Inequality causing 100,000 extra deaths a year from heat and cold in Europe
Tue 12 May 2026
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
Carbon capture ‘doesn’t work’: Former British Columbia premier
Fri 8 May 2026
Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure.
Climate change, socioeconomic shifts threaten Nepal’s yak herding traditions
7 May 2026
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), warming temperatures are fundamentally altering Himalayan high-altitude ecosystems.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
Mon 11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future
5 May 2026
Comment: Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments.
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Wed 13 May 2026
Experts believe environmental degradation caused by climate change and human activity is contributing to its spread by allowing the rodents that transmit the virus to thrive in new areas.
UN methane alert system expanded to coal and waste sectors after Indian landfill named among world’s top emitters
6 May 2026
The United Nations is expanding its methane monitoring system to cover coal mines and waste facilities, after satellite analysis identified a landfill in India among the world’s three largest methane-emitting sites.
